


Darkest Before the Dawn

by Mandy_Meouch9019



Category: Planet Booty (Band), TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Concerts, Explicit Language, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Other, Platonic Relationships, Road Trips, Self-Esteem Issues, Sleepy Cuddles, Touring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25814398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandy_Meouch9019/pseuds/Mandy_Meouch9019
Summary: A dream I had that I wanted to write down...
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Darkest Before the Dawn 

Chapter One 

The van ride back to the hotel was quiet: only distant thunder and a local radio station were audible. Mandy turned her gaze to the buildings and traffic that passed them by, knowing the silence was because of her. The concert went so well, and things were the same at the merch table until a drunken asshole got mad that neither her nor Summer would buy him a drink, decided to shove their table over and grab her by the arm. A few fans fought to yank him away, but his angry flailing caught her in the eye. She yelled out from the shock, more so then the pain. The fans did manage to pry him away from her, with a few kicks and punches of their own, before the bar's security guards tossed him out and Rob quickly took her to the safety of the green room. 

Dylan was extremely pissed off since earlier on in their Midwest tour, an underage fan was caught begging drinks off of older patrons and ended up vomiting outside the venue, and now this. Seeing Dylan this angry was shocking for Mandy and Kevin, the new merch and tech hires for this leg of their tour, but not even Summer, veteran 'merch goddess', had seen him this mad. The rage had cooled some, but his blue eyes looked more like ice in the reflection of the passenger side window. Josh was nervous, unsure of what to say to lighten the mood cause he hated tense moments like these, but awkwardly reached out, patting Mandy on the shoulder. She glanced over to her left and smiled for a moment before she returned her stare to the view from the window. 

"... here we are. Home sweet home." Summer nervously spoke up as the van pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they would be staying at for the next four days. 

"Hey Kev, make sure everything's secured in the back and that the lockbox is with you before I lock the van up." Rob reminded Kevin as he put the van in park before shutting the car off with a quick turn of the key. 

"Got it." Kevin nodded, as Mandy pulled on the door handle opening it so he could get out. 

"Oh, and Mandy..." he added, undoing his seatbelt, "if you need aspirin, let me know. The first aid kit is in my room." 

"No but thanks, Rob. I should be alright until tomorrow." Mandy replied as she unhooked her seatbelt and got out of the van, along with the others.

"Are you sure?" Summer volunteered, doing her double check of the boxes of band merchandise. "I can get a couple for you so you'll be set for the night." 

"I'm positive... I should be fine. Honestly, I was more shocked then hurt." She made herself chuckle to assure both herself and Summer that she was fine. 

"Okay, Mandy." She nodded, finishing up what she was doing before turning to Mandy, her usual focused optimistic expression changed to a sad one. "I wish I hadn't frozen up back there... I could've stopped him, somehow." 

"Summer, no one was expecting what happened earlier. Besides, I wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt, too." 

"Mandy, Sum-Sum; hindsight is 20/20 sometimes." Dylan's voice called out to them breaking the somber moment. He made his way towards them, the sparkles of his galaxy themed button-up shirt glinted from the streetlights. "Besides... that-" he sighed, still frustrated but trying to stay upbeat, "fucking nightmare is behind us. So, let's all get some rest tonight and enjoy this layover, hmm?" 

The two women nodded in agreement, and said their goodnights to Dylan, Josh, Rob and Kevin before they made their way up the flight of steps to their hotel room. Mandy reached into her back pocket for her wallet, retrieving her hotel key card and with a swipe, unlocking the door and letting her and Summer into their room.

Mandy sat herself on the edge of her twin bed, kicked off her shoes and slipped off her denim vest. "You weren't too helpful for me today, now were you?" She chuckled sarcastically, as she unpinned the Invincibility Star lapel pin off of her vest, replacing the rubber backs onto it and dropping it into the drawstring bag that held her other lapel pins, what laid on her bed next to her pajamas and hairbrush. Summer yawned with a stretch before removing her shoes and socks, picking up the hairbrush and pajamas that were neatly folded on her twin bed, and went into the bathroom to change, shutting the door behind her. 

After she did the same with her Planet Booty pin, she turned and made her way to the wide mirror in the back of their room that was positioned above the sink. Mandy gingerly touched the swelling around her right eye with a wince and a deflated groan, praying it wouldn't turn too black and blue. 'At least I packed my concealer with me' she thought as she took one of the white washcloth from the mini shelf and turned on the sink to soak it in some cold water. 

Shutting the faucet off after a few seconds she squeezed most of the water out and folded it into a square, placing it over her sore eye. As she headed back towards her bed to lay down, she heard a knock at the door. Checking the peep-hole with her good eye she saw it was Dylan, so she opened the door and went outside to him.

"Hey, Mandy..." Dylan said after a moment of silence, the smile on his lips not quite reaching his eyes. "Are you alright?" 

"Other then my eye, yeah..." she answered, gesturing to the washcloth she was using. 

"Mandy," he repeated earnestly, placing his left hand on her arm, looking her in the eye. "Are you alright?" 

Looking at him, the tears that she'd successfully kept at bay at the venue and in their van started to come to the surface: she pursed her lips together and shivered before saying, "N-not entirely, but I'll be okay. I mean, something a lot worse could've happened, and... and at least no one else got hurt..." 

Dylan took a step towards her giving her a hug, gently patting her back as he felt her sobs give way. "It's okay, hon...just let it out." After a few minutes, she shakily let go of Dylan with a cough. "I promise you, nothing like that is ever gonna happen again, not if I have anything to do about it." 

Dylan felt terrible that he wasn't near the merch table when that bastard came around. He was over by the stage getting pictures with a group of fans when it happened, and by the time he had reached them, security were escorting him out and Mandy was going to the green room with Rob. 

He took a deep breath and continued, "If you... want to head back home after this incident, I wouldn't blame you-" 

"Dylan..." Mandy stopped him, "I'm fine: I was more scared by that jerkoff then hurt. And besides, I agreed to help you with this leg of your tour when you asked me. Besides, if I did decide to leave now and go home, I'd instantly regret not sticking it out. I told you before I wanted to help this band in any way I could, and this may be the only opportunity I get to do this."

Dylan looked at her, still worried about the possible trauma that would cling to her, but she did manage to find her niche in the tightknit family of him, Josh, Rob and Summer (same as Kevin did) so he figured she could easily talk to any of them if she felt down.

"... Alright, Mandy." Dylan finally said, reaching out to give her shoulder a light squeeze. "Your inner strength is something I've always admired about you. Oh, I almost forgot," letting go of her, he reached into the left pocket of his shirt, retrieving two white capsules. "I snuck some aspirin for you." 

Mandy smiled, holding out her hand as he placed them in her palm. "Thank you, Dylan... I admire your intuition," she stifled a yawn as she tucked the aspirin into the left pocket of her jeans. "Alright, I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Was there anything on the docket for tomorrow?" 

"Nah, checked the weather and it pretty much says storms for the whole day, so we might just take it easy." 

"Sounds good to me. Well, goodnight Dylan... and thanks for checking on me." 

"It's the least I can do." Dylan said with a smile as he gave her another hug. As he let go he quietly added, "Goodnight, Amanda." before giving her a gentle peck on the forehead before turning around and heading down to the hotel room he and Josh were sharing.

Mandy was a bit surprised that Dylan kissed her, but she chalked it up to his affectionate nature and how tired he must be. She shrugged and went back into the hotel room, locking the door behind her. 

"Hey Mandy," Summer's voice called to her, almost startling her. "You alright?" 

"Yeah... Dylan smuggled some aspirin for me, just in case I'd need it." She shrugged with a small smile as she took her black and white polka dotted pajamas and hairbrush off the bed. "I feel like I'm gonna pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow: did you want some sleep ambiance for tonight or...?" 

"The line of storms looks like it'll be coming our way, soon so that should help us get some sleep." Summer said, checking the radar on her weather app, before shutting it off and plugging it into her charger. 

"Alright. I'll shut the lights off once I change. Good night, Summer." She went to the bathroom, opening the door. 

"Goodnight, Mandy." Summer said, as the door closed behind her. She brushed her hair and changed quickly, folding up her purple Planet Booty shirt and blue jean shorts into a neat roll, tucking her undergarments in so they'd be hidden inside. 'They'll probably make a stop at a laundromat before we go to the next venue,' she thought hopefully as she slowly opened the door, turning the light-switch off behind her. Summer was already in her bed, sitting up, fluffing one of the pillows. She went towards the main light-switch and flipping it down, darkness filling the tiny room. 

Mandy quietly tiptoed towards her bed, setting her clothes onto her duffel bag and pulled the tightly tucked sheets and blanket up on one side so she could get under the covers. "Goodnight," she whispered as she plugged her phone into her charger that sat on the bedside nightstand. She then pulled the covers up to her chin and tried getting comfortable, tossing and turning until she felt well enough to attempt to sleep, but she remembered dozing off as soon as heard the sound of steady rainfall.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Summer woke up at seven a.m., her usual wake up time during a tour, she was just accustomed to waking up early. Unplugging the phone from her charger she turned it on, setting it to vibrate so it wouldn't disturb Mandy, got out of bed and walked over to the sink where her toothbrush and toothpaste were waiting for her. As she brushed her teeth, she tried not to make a lot of noise. While sleeping was difficult that evening, she heard Mandy toss and turn quite a bit. 'Last night probably gave all of us a rough night,' she thought wistfully. 

While she rinsed her toothbrush, her phone buzzed on the counter. Checking it, she saw it was a text from Rob, asking her if she wanted to go on a Starbucks run with him. She quickly texted him back, "Just woke up... I should be ready in an hour." His response of "Okay, ttyl." was soon recieved. Putting her toothbrush back in its case, she went to her duffel bag and, turning on her flashlight app, hunted for an outfit for the day. Once it was retrieved, she turned off the flashlight, and grabbed a washcloth and one of the fluffy white hotel towels from the rack and set them on the right side of the sink and grabbed her 'shower kit' and designated flip flops and took them into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. ___________________________________________ 

Mandy woke up to the sound of the shower running and drowsily remembered the first time she and Summer played rock, paper, scissors to determine who'd be the first to take a shower the night after a show. Summer won, and she jokingly said, "Don't use up too much of the hot water while you're in there," but now, since Summer was the early riser of the two, she got first dibs at the shower when it came to mornings. Mandy never complained about it, but today she was a little on edge after last night's debacle. When she heard the water turn off, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep. 

She swallowed back the angry thoughts she was having, knowing it wasn't Summer's fault nor her own for what had happened that evening. She just wanted to put the whole mess behind her... maybe today can ease her troubled mind. She heard the door open, and Summer's light footsteps as she exited the bathroom. As the sound of her steps made their way to her bed and the subtle groan of her sitting on the mattress, a quiet yawn came from Mandy, causing her to stretch and turn onto her left side. 

"Morning, Mandy." Summer said quietly, running a comb through her damp blonde bob. "Did you sleep well?" 

"As well as usual..." Mandy answered sleepily, pulling herself into a sitting position, panicking slightly before she remembering she had her sleep bra on. "How about you?" 

"Pretty much the same. Rob's gonna be going on a Starbucks run in a bit, I'll be going with him. Did you want anything?" She asked, tugging the hem of her orange t-shirt. 

"Umm," she thought for a moment, trying to focus her tired mind on what they served there. "I'll have a bacon, egg and gouda breakfast sandwich and a... tall caramel frappuccino." Pushing the heavy cover off, she got to her feet. "How bad does it look?" She asked, gesturing to her right eye. 

"It's gotten a bit darker, but it isn't very big." Summer answered honestly. 

"That's good." Mandy sighed and pulled herself to her feet, walking over to the foot of her bed where her duffel was placed. "I'm gonna take a shower now... by the time I'm done, you'll probably be back with Rob. Where will we be convening for breakfast?" 

"Rob and Kevin's room." Summer replied, lacing up her white tennis shoes. 

"Alright. Just text me when you're back from Starbucks." Mandy said through a yawn as she withdrew her 'shower kit' along with her toothbrush and toothpaste. 

"Will do, Mandy... ttyl." She double checked to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything before she left their hotel room, closing the door behind her. Mandy went to the door, making sure it was fully locked before she brushed her teeth and took a shower. Rifling through her duffel bag, she took her gray Star Wars shirt and black shorts out of the bag and retrieving a similar gray scrunchie to match, along with her undergarments and socks. Tucking the clothes under her arm, she went to the mirror and stared at her reflection, agitated by the darkened bruise that covered part of her eye. She shook her head with a deep exhale and, setting her outfit on the sink, went back to set her makeup bag on the bed so it would be ready for her when she was done. 

She brushed and showered quickly, but thoroughly. She was never accustomed to taking her time when she showered, except when her hubby was involved, for obvious reasons. 'Crap... what am I gonna tell him?" She thought as she scrubbed her arms with the wash rag she had used the night before, the foamy sweet smell of strawberry shower gel the only pleasantness in that stark white room. She couldn't lie to him, but was worried about what he would say or if he would want her to come back home. As she finished up with washing her face, she came up with the way to tell him what happened. 

She would just wish him good morning and tell him that last night went well, except for a drunken douchebag got miffed at her for not buying him a drink. And when he tried to take a swing at her, a few fans held him back, and in the melee of him trying to fight them off, caused her to get bumped in the eye. She'd assure him it wasn't a serious injury and that the asshat scared her more then anything, but she held her own very well, finishing up that they were on layover for a few days. 

As she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in the second white hotel towel, she texted him that very message, adding how much she loved and missed him and how many shows were left until she'd be back in his loving arms. Hitting send and setting the phone by the pillows, she finished drying off, moisturizing and getting dressed. As she carefully finished powdering the bruised area of her right eye, she put her compact and phone into her camo green purse, slipping the strap over her shoulder and made her way out of the hotel room into the warm rainy morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Dylan knocked on the door to Rob and Kevin's room as Josh pulled the hood of his black jacket up, despite the bedazzled baseball cap he was wearing. 

It didn't take long for Kevin to answer the door. "Hey guys," Kevin said drowsily as he let them in. Running a hand over his frizzy blonde hair, he hiccuped and asked "Sleep well?" 

Dylan shrugged and Josh responded, "As well as usual with this one snoring," he gestured to his friend, who flopped down onto the loveseat. 

"As long as we've toured together, you're still not used to my little quirks?" He shook his head, while he unlaced his gray canvas sneakers, slipping them off and dropping them beside the loveseat. 

"Not when those little quirks are gross and I can hear them through my noise cancelling earplugs." Josh quipped as he stepped out of his black shoes, revealing dark blue socks that had a galaxy donut pattern. "You know that I love you and Rob like brothers, and what kind of brother would I be without blunt honesty?" Picking up his shoes, he walks over to the loveseat and neatly places them next to Dylan's. 

"I know, Josh..." Dylan sighed, scratching his head. "I just wish the weather was nicer for all of us to go out and do something fun." A roll of thunder called out in response, slightly shaking the walls. 

"Weather like this can be a drag, but we can still make it a good day." Kevin replied, trying to keep today a positive one to counteract the disaster of last night, when he heard a timid knock on the door. 

Kevin made his way to the door, turning the handle and opening it. "Morning Mandy," he said, giving her a hug. "How'd you sleep?" He asked, stepping aside to let her in. 

"I slept okay, despite... the ongoing storm." She stepped into the room, quickly slipping off her shoes (as routine to Rob's customs) and carried them to the loveseat, setting them alongside Josh's and Dylan's. 

"Morning, Josh... morning, Dylan." She said with a smile as she gave each of them a hug. Taking a seat on the floor beside the loveseat, she folded her legs beneath her and said, "I wish the weather would've taken a turn for the better when morning came, but... nothing wrong with just recouping." 

"Very true," Kevin agreed, now anxious about how quiet Dylan and Josh were... they weren't usually like this, even though he'd just started getting to know them. He heard a text alert go off, and saw Josh check his phone, type something and sending it, before tucking it into the pocket of his sweatpants. 

"Just got done talking to Rob, he and Summer will be back in a few minutes, and he came up with something we could do after breakfast, if you're interested." He looked at Kevin with a slightly mischievous grin. 

"Um... sure, I'm down." Kevin said, eager to have some fun today. "What is it?" 

"We can go into that later," Josh responded, glancing at Mandy as she answered her ringing cellphone. 

"Hey Summer... yeah, we're all here... of course we'll head out to help. Alright, see you in five. Bye." She hung up, and taking hold of the armrest, got up from the floor and slipped her shoes back on. Dylan and Josh went to do the same as Kevin went to the shared bedroom to get his shoes. 

"Josh, just because I don't smoke pot doesn't mean you have to be discreet about wanting to wake and bake." Mandy said with a chuckle as she fixed the back of her left shoe. 

"How do you know that's what I was talking about?"Josh asked, pretending to be stunned by her suggestion but only for a few seconds before giggling. 

"Look... last night was a disaster, and I know you and Dylan are probably still on edge. Whatever you want to do to help unwind is fine by me: I'm not going to judge you or anything." 

"Honestly, I'm more surprised that you knew we smoke weed." Dylan replied, a nervous smile on his face. 

"I kind of learned it through the grapevine. Anyway, with pot being legal in California it isn't that bizarre that you, Josh or Rob have a card to purchase it."

"Who'd you hear that from?" Josh asked, intrigued to hear who this info came from. 

"A friend of mine who goes by the stage name, Comrade Contra... the band they're in, Solar Disco Force opened for you before, and they mentioned one of their former band members visited Mr. Green with you." She replied, the warm smile that painted her face lifted Dylan's spirits. 

After adjusting the hood of her jacket, Mandy and the others hurried out to the rainy parking lot, as the van pulled into a nearby spot. Rob shut off the motor and grabbing his iced tea exited the van, closing the door as Summer opened her side door. "Here, Summer... I'll take that." Mandy said, taking the drink holder out of Summer's hands. "Thanks, Mandy... I wish they had divided our orders into two bags, instead of this." She chuckled, gesturing to the large bag sitting on the floorboard between her feet. Grabbing her latte, she grabbed the large bag with her left hand and got out of the van, closing the heavy van door with a thud. Dylan took the bag from Summer and the group hustled back to the room. 

"Hey Dylan, set that bag over there: I'll sort it out." Rob said, gesturing to the bed by the balcony window. Dylan nodded, taking the bag over to the bed, setting it down on the foot of the mattress. 

"Alright... let's see what we have here." Mandy queried, examining the tags of each cup in the holder. "Who ordered the... wellness tea?" 

"I did." Josh stated. Mandy picked the cup up, holding the sleeve and handed it to Josh. "Thank you, sweetie." Josh smiled, reclaiming his spot on the loveseat and opening the top of his drink cup to take a sip. 

"You're welcome..." Mandy giggled as she withdrew the second beverage. "Cold brew with milk." 

"That's me," Kevin answered, retrieving his sandwich from Rob. "I see you and I ordered the same sandwich." 

"Sandwich twin powers, activate." She joked giving him a playful nudge with her elbow before handing him his drink. "And since I know this is mine, the honey citrus tea has to be yours." She carefully maneuvered through the hustle of the others retrieving their breakfasts from Rob to give Dylan his cup. 

"Thanks, Mandy." Dylan replied, looking out the small window at the parking lot. "I'm sure our communal breakfasts can be a little claustrophobic at times." He added, venting the top of his lid so his tea could cool some. 

"A little..." Mandy confessed, as she looked around. "But I appreciate the camaraderie that they bring." She glanced at the little 'concert family' around her.


End file.
